What properties can be cited with a Grass and Weed Neighborhood Services & Enforcement Violation?

A violation can occur on any commercial or residential property within City limits that has grass or weeds that are over 9 inches.

What is the process for issuing a Grass and Weed Neighborhood Services & Enforcement Violation?

• The inspector will verify if the grass and weeds are nine (9) inches or taller
  • If the grass is not yet 9" or taller, the inspector will close out the case as "no violation."
  • If the grass is 9" or taller, the inspector will mark it as "in violation" and a notice will be mailed to the property owner.
• The property owner is asked to mow his/her property within 48 hours per City Ordinance 16-59.
• The inspector will re-inspect the property after 10 days per Indiana Code 36-1-6-2.
  • If the grass has been mowed the inspector will close out the case as "completed by owner".
  • If the grass is still taller than 9", the inspector will send the violation to Venues, Parks & Arts for mowing.
• After the grass is mowed, Neighborhood Services & Enforcement will bill the owner for work performed and administrative costs PLUS issue an ordinance violation ticket.
  • If the owner fails to pay, they will be sent to collections for the invoice/violation ticket.

How do you report a Grass and Weed Neighborhood Services & Enforcement Violation?

Please call 311 with details of the specific location.

What happens when a property is found in violation?

Once an inspector cites an active violation, the property owner is sent a letter. They have 10 days to take care of the issue.  After the 10 day period the inspector will perform a re-inspection. If the issue has not been resolved, a City crew will mow the lot and the property owner will be sent a bill for the services.

How much does a Grass and Weed Neighborhood Services & Enforcement Violation Cost? 

There will be no costs unless the violation is sent to our crew for cleanup. The property owner will be charged for services rendered, administrative fees, and an ordinance violation ticket. Under South Bend Municipal Code Section 19-35, for every abatement completed by Venues, Parks & Arts, a $250 fine will be imposed.

If the property is under Continuous Enforcement, a different fee structure applies: 

• First year under Continuous Enforcement = $250 per occurrence
• Second year under Continuous Enforcement = $500 per occurrence

 

311 Process Notes

Please ask the caller how tall is the grass?  Neighbors with 1" grass complain about a neighbor with 4" grass.  This is not a violation.  The grass must be over 9" to cite.

311 create service requests in CRM 

Recording Ordinance Violation Payments

Neighborhood SmartSheet citations or invoices - Neighborhood Services & Enforcement Open Invoices 

Steps

1. Log in using City log in credentials

• Navigating to SmartSheet will take you to the sign-in page
• Click “Sign in with email”
  • Username = 311@southbendin.gov
  • Password = CityHall215$

2. If the resident has their invoice

• Check that the invoice is for Accela, RSVP, or Police issued citations
  • If it is for zoning or lawn parking, it will be paid in OpenGov
• Record the transaction in SmartSheet - Transaction Form
  • This will automatically find the matching invoice number and update it as paid.

3. If the resident does not have their invoice

• Ask if they know what the citation is for.
• Select the folder for the citation type that the resident is asking to pay.
  • You can Navigate to the other sheets by clicking “Workspaces” on the left side of the screen.
  • Select the “Open Invoices” sheet for the citation type.
  • You can then expand and collapse the folders to find the other sheets.
• Press Crtl+F to open the search bar
• Search by name, address, or note.
• Use the Transaction Form and use the details found in the sheet

4. If the invoice is not found…

• Check the other sheets for the invoice number. It is possible that it is in another status.
• Under the Invoice/Fee type folder, there will be all the sheets with various statuses.
  • Can accept payment, unable to collect
    • This is no longer in collections because it is beyond the statute of limitations of the collections period.
    • It can still be paid against.
  • Paid invoices
    • This invoice has already been paid; no balance is owed.
  • Payment Plan
    • Payment plans are managed by OVB. If the resident is on a payment plan, they can pay their minimum amount or the full balance.
    • If the resident has questions or wishes to change their payment plan, transfer them to OVB.
  • Pending Appeal
    • The resident has filed an appeal for this invoice.
    • This is unable to be paid while the appeal is being processed.
    • If the resident has a question about their appeal, transfer them to OVB.
  • Sent to Collections
    • This is unable to be paid to the City by the resident. The resident will need to contact Krisor to pay this invoice at 574-272-1000.
  • Void invoices
    • This invoice was voided by the department or OVB; no balance is owed

​​​​​​​5. If the invoice is still not found

• Transfer the resident to OVB (6th floor or Ext. 9462).

6. Provide the resident with a receipt

• Since there is no official system to process payments to SmartSheet, a receipt will have to be issued to the resident.
• Complete this form to issue a receipt to the resident - Ordinance Violation Bureau Payment Receipt.
• Ask the resident if they would like an email copy or physical copy of their receipt.
  • If paid with credit card, the credit card terminal receipt should be stapled to the paper receipt.
  • The merchant copy printed by the credit card terminal should be placed into the OVB binder by the computer station for safekeeping.
• If an email is provided on the receipt, a copy will be sent to the email.
• A copy of the receipt will be automatically sent to a shared folder with OVB for their reporting process.
  • https://southbendin2.sharepoint.com/sites/311/OVB%20Receipts/Forms/AllItems.aspx

7. Record the payment for reconciliation

• Write the amount of the payment on the deposit slip in the individual folder for the citation type.
  • Deposit slips have to be organized by department;
    • Write “OVB - Acela, OVB – SBPD, or OVB – RSVP” at the top of the deposit slip.​​​​​​​